He slid out the back door, leaped over the railing that followed the wrap-around deck, and jogged toward the voice.
“Jace.Pick up your phone.I’m on your property, and there’s no house!”she yelled into the receiver.
He rounded the corner, and the visual of Cammie there, the sharp, dynamic cliffs of the Basin behind her, the bright colors of decay boasted by the foliage acting as a crown atop her perfectly styled hair, was as jarring as her voice.She didn’t belong.Her white pantsuit, nude pumps, and enough makeup to outfit a Vegas showgirl stood out as different, and not in an endearing way.
No, she was an emissary of everything he’d left behind in LA on purpose.
When she caught his gaze on her, her manicured brows pulled even tighter together.Her forehead didn’t register a wrinkle, though.
Oh, Cammie.What the actual fuck are you doing here?
But he knew.She was there to talk him out of marrying Aurelie.He suppressed a groan and met her halfway between Paige’s driveway and the house.
“What do you think?”he asked, sweeping his hand behind him like a showman.Her gaze followed, but there was nothing in her features that told him she saw, nevertheless appreciated, the expanse before them both.
“Charming.Listen, we need to talk, Jace.”
“I figured as much since you don’t seem like you’re here to take a stroll.”
She glowered at him.
“I came all the way here because I figured you’d listen to reason if I could look you in the eye and tell you what a mistake you’re about to make.”
“Say what you came here to say, Cammie, but be very careful.I’m not in the mood to be told what is or isn’t a good decision for my life.You can tackle my image, the jobs I sign on for, but tread lightly with the rest.”
A war raged across her features.Her lips quivered, and her cheeks turned a cherry red.She was contemplating just how much she wanted to tell him off, that much was obvious.But in the glint of her eyes, he registered fear.He was a huge part of her client base.
“I’m sorry for what I said about you,” she started.He raised his brows.“And her.I was frustrated to be the last to get the news.Can we talk inside?”she asked.
He nodded.He understood why she was worried, but it didn’t excuse her language.
“Sure.”
“What happened to your house?”she asked as he led her toward Paige’s home.It was the first time Cammie had spoken to him in months, where it sounded like the Cammie he’d first met in LA: confident but humble, willing to hustle to get what she wanted, but kind, real.He felt bad for letting her walk into a hornet’s nest unknowingly, but she had come here of her own volition.
“I leveled it.I decided to build something more suited to my tastes.I’d like it to incorporate more of the land.You know, a deck, vaulted windows, and all that.I’ll be using it for a functioning farm, so it’ll be nice to have a place to come home to.”
“Will you be up here enough to manage it?”
He didn’t want to go there with Cammie.Not right now.His acting career might not be completely over, but his time in LA was, that much he’d solidified today.
“I will,” he said, picking up his pace.From the sounds of it, she struggled behind him as he made his way to the front door of Paige’s place, but he didn’t turn around to check.
“Whose place is this, then?”Cammie asked, breathless and covered in a thin sheen of sweat despite the cool spring temperature.Though it was a pretty far cry from the normal workout she got in Pilates, the open air would do her good if she let it.
“The neighbors.He’s a rancher as well, and she’s a doc in town.I knew her and her brother growing up.”He didn’t elaborate.An odd sense of ownership fluttered in Jace’s stomach.This was his home, his people.Talking about them to strangers seemed like a betrayal of sorts.
He opened the door tentatively.Inviting Cammie to meet Aurelie was a bigger betrayal than the rest.If Cammie said anything negative to his wife, so help him…
He took a hesitant breath as he looked around.Aurelie was nowhere to be seen, yet the aroma of her coconut shampoo hung lightly in the air like a drug.God, how was it possible he ached for her, missed her already?Fuck, he should have known distance with this woman was impossible the moment he’d almost run her over.
“Grab a seat.I’ll be back in a sec.”
However, just before he made it out of the kitchen, Aurelie came from the back of the house, a laughing Maddie on her hip.Dressed in a tank top that showed off her toned shoulders and perky breasts, sleep shorts as casual as Cammie was overdressed, Jace’s eyes widened as he took her in.
She was fucking beautiful.Pride welled in his chest, as if he’d done a damn thing to earn it.
Aurelie’s face lit up when she caught his gaze.
